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| Kanu |
The leaderships of Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights
Organizations (SBCHROs) are circumstantially compelled to hold that the
proposed five masked witnesses or masqueraded witnesses recruited by the DSS
and the Directorate of Federal Public Prosecution to testify against Citizen
Kanu and ors may most likely have been recruited from among tens of thousands
of “awaiting trial persons” presently languishing in the Nigerian Prisons with
delayed or without trial. The unfolding drama in the ongoing trial of Citizen
Nnamdi Kanu (POC) and ors over phantom accusation of being “treasonable felons”
as well as the macabre dance of Hon Justice John Tsehemba Tsoho in his trial
proceedings and the Federal Government of Nigeria per DSS and Federal
Directorate of Public Prosecution are a clear attestation of the fact under
reference. By nature, something can never be produced from nothing.
In law, he who alleges must proof and he
who alleges falsely can only falsely proof as well. These explain the
reasons behind the macabre dance of Hon Justice John Tsoho and other unfolding
dramas under reference.
We are also not
surprised over “the Auta style” disposition of Hon Justice John Tsoho. We will
not dissipate more energy repeating ourselves per Intersociety; having
long and correctly disclosed and unmasked the unholy wedlock between the Judge
and the embattled Federal Government of Nigeria with a compensatory reward of
next CJship of the Federal High Court. Till date, that insightful position of
ours has remained publicly undisputed.
We wish to remind
Nigerians and members of the international community that few weeks after the
swearing in of Gen Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s sixth electoral president, a
close ally of his and chieftain of APC, Dr. Yakubu Lame (former police affairs
minister) openly condemned the 1999 Constitution and the principles of the Rule
of Law and called for “creation of emergency powers to enable Gen Buhari to
perform”. Till date, the Government of Gen Muhammadu Buhari has kept sealed
lips over such abominable and treasonable comments.
Since then the 1999
Constitution and the hallowed principles of rule of law including respect for
citizens’ constitutional and fundamental rights have suffered a series of
bastardization and gross disrespect. President Muhammadu Buhari and his
administration hardly mention the 1999 Constitution in most of their public
utterances and international public functions.
It is also worthy to
recall that all the criminal cases brought against Citizen Nnamdi Kanu (POC)
grossly lack indictable and prosecutorial elements till date. In the first
phantom charges hurriedly cooked up after what looked like a failed abduction
and assassination mission; the Federal Government shamelessly backed out and
discontinued same. Then came another phantom criminal allegation of “terrorism
and terrorism financing”, intended to keep him long in pretrial incarceration;
the Federal High Court washed its hands off the phantom pretrial proceedings.
The Buhari administration further gambled and came up with its latest
“treasonable felony”; yet it still cannot sustain the charge, leading to resort
to recruitment, indoctrination, brainwashing and proposed masking of false
witnesses for the purpose of convicting Citizen Nnamdi Kanu (POC) alongside
others at all costs.
The same persecution
being visited on Citizen Nnamdi Kanu (POC) is also meted out to Sheik Ibrahim
Zaky El-Zaky. Here is a man being persecuted and treated violently for
belonging to a non armed and nonviolent religious movement in Nigeria. Apart
from violently murdering members of his nuclear family and 300-700 unarmed
members of his sect, the Buhari administration has taken him into solitary and
incommunicado confinement without fair and credible trial till date. Over 190
of his members are presently undergoing questionable criminal prosecution.
Sheik El-Zaky Zaky was also battered and lacerated by Buhari administration’s
killer soldiers in December 2015. Apart from legion of rights abuses committed
against the battered and detained Muslim leader, there is no section in the
1999 Constitution that allows Gen Buhari and his diarchic administration to
detain a citizen in perpetual confinement without credible trial or release.
These explain why we hold strongly that “the present
administration of Gen Muhammadu Buhari is utterly diarchic and operates with a
set of rules unknown to the 1999 Constitution and harmful to the same
Constitution, Nigerians and the rule of law. The Buhari administration has
further gone ahead to recruit morally diminished and shameless characters in
the country’s judiciary for the purpose of doing its coercive biddings. It is
on account of this that Gen Buhari is emboldened to inform international press
of “those “who will end up in jail” by fire by force and outside recourse to
constitutionalism and rule of law. To him, the likes of Citizens Nnamdi Kanu,
Sambo Dasuki and Ibrahim El-Zaky “are already executively convicted” waiting
for mere judicial legitimization.
The macabre dance of Hon Justice John Tsoho in the phantom trial
of Citizen Nnamdi Kanu is a clear case in point. Apart from being inescapably
caught up between his parochial interest of becoming the next pro establishment
Chief Judge of the Federal High Court after the exit of the “Ogoni Nine” hanger
and the interest of justice (justice to Citizen Nnamdi Kanu, rule of law and
Nigerians); the two cardinal principles of nemo judex in causa sua (no one
should be a judge in his or her own cause/case or judicial biasness) and audi
altarem partem (listen to the other side or let the other side be heard as
well) have not only been ridiculed but also grossly bastardized under his
procedural watch. The absence of these two cardinal principles has reduced the
trial proceedings of Hon Justice John Tsoho to “a kangaroo military tribunal”.
Apart from Hon Justice John Tsoho’s trial proceedings lacking
“fair hearing and fair trial” components, he also probated and reprobated by
ruling and countering and contradicting himself and his earlier ruling. His
clear conflict of interest (eyeing of CJship) has robbed him and his trial proceedings
of fairness, independence, neutrality and impartiality. His brazen refusal to
hands off the matter as was earlier advised is shocking and alarming. For
instance, the same judge that had in his earlier ruling, ruled against any form
of secret trial and presentation of masked witnesses or witnesses behind the
screens; suddenly turned around and granted same. He has also delayed
deliberately the signing of his questionable rulings to enable the defense
counsel prepare and file relevant appeals. The signing of his controversial
ruling on Citizen Nnamdi Kanu’s bail application was done few hours to the
expiration of 14 mandatory days for appeal, after hot verbal exchanges with the
defense counsel.
We have long been
informed by concerned reliable sources and we did not believe it, until the
unfolding events unveiled; that the insistence of the Government of Muhammadu
Buhari to prosecute Citizen Nnamdi Kanu off camera or with masked
witnesses is not only because it has no credible witnesses to testify against
him on phantom allegation of “treasonable felony”, but also because it planned
to recruit, indoctrinate, brainwash and use some “awaiting trial persons”
detained over sundry street crimes allegations to falsely testify against him;
in return for withdrawal of such criminal allegations against them or
enlistment of their names in the list of those periodically granted pardon or
unconditional release by relevant Chief Judges of States and FCT during their
routine visits to prisons for the purpose of prison decongestion.
Section 174 (1) (c) of the 1999 Constitution empowers the
Attorney General of the Federation to discontinue at any stage before judgment
is delivered any such criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by him or
any other authority or person in any court in Nigeria. Under Section 1 (1) of the Criminal Justice Release from
Custody Special Provision Act CAP C40, 2007, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria
and relevant provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJ) of
2015, Chief Judges of the 36 States & FCT are empowered to release
unconditionally those in awaiting trial detention. There are other provisions
(prerogative of mercy) empowering the president, governors, Chief Justice of
Nigeria and States and FCT Chief Judges to during special public events,
release or pardon or commute long jail sentences given to jailed serious
criminal offenders.
It is on this note that we
commend the dogged and untiring efforts of the defense counsel led by the duo
of Chief Chuks Muoma, SAN and Ifeanyi Ejiofor, APTP (advocate of the persecuted
& threatened people). The clinical efforts of our (Intersociety) amiable
head of democracy & good governance advocacy program, Barr Chinwe Umeche,
who is a member of the defense legal team, are also commended and appreciated.
We have further taken public notice of open threats directed at Barr Ifeanyi
Ejiofor by some overzealous DSS operatives during the court sitting of 7th
of March 2016.
The position and insistence
of the defense legal team that Hon Justice John Tsoho is unfit and morally
diminished to continue to preside over the trial is totally correct and
gratifying. The democratic tenets, principles of the rule of law and provisions
of the 1999 Constitution forbid any form of secret or presentation of masked
witnesses or false evidence against a citizen accused in the open and in a
democratic society. As a matter of fact, Section 36 (3) of the 1999
Constitution (amended in 2011) commandingly directs that “the proceedings of a
court or proceedings of any tribunal relating to matters mentioned in
subsection (1) of this section including the announcement of the decisions of
the court or tribunal shall be held in public”.
We cannot accept or
tolerate a situation where citizens are accused and charged in the open courts
of judiciary and the masses only to be tried and evidenced in secret or behind
the screens. It is our sound advice to Citizen Nnamdi Kanu and his legal team
to stick to their insistence on exercising their rights to fair hearing and
fair trial as well as open court trial including open witnesses, open
testimonies, open examinations, open cross examinations and open judgments. The
trial proceedings under reference must also be removed from the hands of Hon
Justice John Tsehemba Tsoho and assigned to another judge.
Singed:
For: The Southeast Based Coalition of
Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs)
1. Emeka
Umeagbalasi (+2348174090052)
For: International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of
Law (Intersociety)
2.
Comrade
Aloysius Attah (+2348035090548)
For: Anambra State Branch of the Civil Liberties Organization
(CLO)
3.
Comrade
Peter Onyegiri (+2347036892777)
For: Center for Human Rights & Peace Advocacy (CHRPA)
4.
Comrade
Samuel Njoku (+2348039444628)
For: Human Rights Club (a project of LRRDC) (HRC)
5.
Comrade
Justus Uche Ijeoma(+2348037114869)
For: Forum for Justice, Equity & Defense of Human Rights
(FJEDHR)
6.
Comrade
Chike Umeh ( +2348064869601)
For: Society Advocacy Watch Project (SPAW)
7.
Obianuju
Joy Igboeli, Esq. (+2348034186332)
For: Anambra Human Rights Forum AHRF)
8.
Comrade
Alex Olisa(+2348034090410)
For: Southeast Good Governance Forum (SGGF)
9.
Jerry
Chukwuokolo, PhD (+2348035372962)
For: International Solidarity for Peace & Human Rights
Initiative (ITERSOLIDARITY)
10. Maazi
Tochukwu Ezeoke (+447748612933)
For:
Igbo Ekunie Initiative (pan Igbo rights advocacy group)
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